A group art exhibition featuring the 2024 A4A (Artists for Artists) Production Fund grantees — Dumiduni Illangasinghe, Mayun Kaluthantri, and Malinda Jayasinghe will be held at the Saskia Fernando Gallery from September 12 to October 3.
Alongside this exhibition, the Udayshanth and Angelika Fernando Foundation, in partnership with the Indira Cancer Trust, will launch the third edition of its annual fundraiser.
The Udayshanth and Angelika Fernando Foundation Fundraiser aims to raise funds for the next edition of the A4A Production Grant and other initiatives that support young artists and designers in furthering their practice.
The project will also support ongoing work toward building cancer awareness and support the work of Suwa Arana. The fundraiser will feature over fifty leading and emerging contemporary artists from Sri Lanka, each generously contributing their work to support this cause.
The Udayshanth and Angelika Fernando Foundation is a non-profit organisation set up by Annika and Saskia Fernando, with a vision to support and assist projects focused on those affected by cancer in parallel the foundations focus on sustainable development of the arts in Sri Lanka. Initially established as the Udayshanth Fernando Foundation in 2020, the founders re-envisioned their objective following the passing of their beloved mother, Angelika Fernando in 2022.
In 2021, the foundation launched the Artists for Artists Production Fund (A4A), an initiative to ensure that art practitioners can continue to engage in creative pursuits irrespective of the limitations presented by the economic crisis in Sri Lanka. It was conceived as an accessible alternative to more competitive regional and international opportunities to fill a void of locally available options for art practitioners. The initiative aims to create a homegrown environment that encourages art practitioners to push the limits of their creative potential and continue researching and developing new bodies of work.
Artists Dumiduni Illangasinghe, Mayun Kaluthantri, and Malinda Jayasinghe were selected following an Open Call in August 2023, by a panel of judges including Professor Jagath Weerasinghe, Artist and Archaeologist, Nour Aslam, Executive Director of Art South Asia Project and Sandev Handy, Curator of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka.
The grant recipients reflect a dynamic cross-section of emerging artists within the Sri Lankan contemporary art scene, each bringing distinct voices and perspectives.
The initiative has been generously supported by artists since the inception of the project in 2021. For this year’s edition of the fundraiser, artists were requested to interpret a small canvas, similar to an A4A-sized paper.
Artists contributing to the third edition of the production fund include Sandatharaka Abeysinghe, Suntharam Anojan, Muvindu Binoy, Muhanned Cader, Pradeep Chandrasiri, Hashan Cooray, Janani Cooray, Randika de Silva, Rasika de Silva, Susil Dixon, Manaram Gamage, Pathum Gamage, Pramith Geekiyanage, Arjuna Gunarathne, Kingsley Gunatillake, Vajira Gunawardena, Chathurika Jayani, Dileepa Jeewantha, Sivasubramaniam Kajendran, Sameera Kalupahana, H. A. Karunaratne, Anura Krishantha, Sanjeewa Kumara, Namal Kumara, Sujeewa Kumari, Bandu Manamperi, Prageeth Manohansa, Shaanea Mendis, Raki Nikahetiya, Susiman Nirmalavasan, Sabeen Omar, Mahen Perera, Priyanthi Pothupitiya, Pala Pothupitiya, Gayan Prageeth, Ruwan Prasanna, Koralagedara Pushpakumara, Firi Rahman, Lojithan Ram, J. C. Rathnayake, Jagath Ravindra, Lahiru Sandaruwan, Hema Shironi, Hanusha Somasundaram, Mika Tennekoon, Pradeep Thalawatta, Chandraguptha Thenuwara, Thujiba Vijayalayan, Jagath Weerasinghe, Priyantha Weerasuriya, Charith Wijesundara, Pathmal Yahampath and Yuwantha Yasas.
The works will be auctioned online via AirAuctioneer from September 12-14.
